Healing insomnia with as little as 60 minutes of therapy is possible, research reveals.
Three-quarters of patients with acute insomnia were cured by a 60-minute cognitive-behavioral therapy session, according to a new study.Dr Jason Ellis, a professor of sleep science at the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University who directed the study, said:
The results of our study clearly showed that only one session of therapy had been successful, with an improvement in the quality of sleep for about 60% of people with acute insomnia in one month.
The longer-term benefits were even better, with nearly three-quarters of those receiving the intervention failing to develop chronic insomnia.
The researchers studied 40 adults with insomnia for less than three months.
They were given standard instructions on how to manage their insomnia.
Fighting insomnia as early as possible is the key, said Professor Ellis:
Despite considerable evidence supporting the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia, this acute insomnia has not been tested until this study.
Chronic insomnia is a significant health burden for the individual and the economy and has been linked to the development or worsening of a number of physical and psychiatric conditions.
It is also a widespread and largely implacable condition, so anything we can do to prevent acute insomnia from developing to the chronic phase will be of real benefit.
Professor Ellis continued:
There are many benefits to treating insomnia during an acute phase.
If successful, significant savings can be realized in terms of long-term health care, lost productivity and accidents.
This becomes more relevant when the costs associated with other disorders, such as depression, for which insomnia is known to be a risk factor, are taken into account.
The study was published in the journal Sleep.
(Elliset al., 2015)
